Born Again
by Midnight Ryder
Summary: The Enterprise’s second space anomaly encounter leaves the ship with a very different Captain Kirk. Can he be saved before it is too late? Eventual K/S Slash.
1. Baby Blues

**Title**: Born Again

**Summary**: The Enterprise's second space anomaly encounter leaves the ship with a very different Captain Kirk. Can he be saved before it is too late? K/S Slash.

**Disclaimer**: I do not claim any rights to this franchise nor do I hope to make any profits from this story. Just borrowing the characters for a while. I'll give them back, I swear.

**Pairing**: Kirk/Spock

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It was the starship Enterprise's first unknown space anomaly since the detrimental encounter with the future Romulan ship. The battle with Nero was a sore spot among the crew, especially between the ship's captain and first officer. The exchange between the two during the mission that allowed James T. Kirk to take his rightful command of the Enterprise was hurtful to both involved. The biting accusations that Jim had unfairly aimed at Spock, although ordered by the older Spock himself, were distasteful even for his devil-may-care mindset.

Jim didn't care if people disliked him and he never did. But it was not a matter of Spock's regard for him that lodged a rock of guilt in his chest during and after the mission, it was the sadness he sometimes saw penetrating through his first officer's stoic mask. Jim was not the cause of the destruction of the planet Vulcan, nor the loss of Spock's mother, but he was the cause of the sadness. He had taken command away from Spock by using Spock's raw loss to his advantage, and how could Spock ever forgive him for that?

It wasn't as if Jim stayed awake all night every night choking over this guilt. He and Spock had been getting along normally ever since they saved Earth. There was a daily development of trust and even amiability between the two.

No, the guilt solidified into his heavy chest on those days when Spock was quieter than normal, with a set of lines of tension around his almost human brown eyes that betrayed the Vulcan's inner emotions. Jim knew on those days that Spock was reminded of his mother, and sometimes he would relieve his first officer of duty a little earlier than normal. It was the least he could do.

Now, with this second space anomaly that was fast approaching the starship, expressions of severe apprehension were etched over all of the crew's faces with the memory of their last. Getting a grip over his memories, Jim straightened up in his chair, quickly transitioning into an over confident captain.

"Commander Spock, what are the readings of this anomaly?" Jim asked.

"According to the ship's scanners, the electronegative discharge emanating from the anomaly is highly concentrated and is quickly altering the properties of the ship's sensors. I am unable to detect the depth of the plasma based field and highly recommend our retreat before we reach any possible gravitational pulls from its activity. The unknown nature of its electronegative derivative properties or the extent of its effects would make it unwise to investigate any further." Spock replied.

Tension was forming around his first officer's eyes and Jim squashed his guilt back into oblivion. This was not the time for personal regrets; if he did not act quickly he could put his crew in danger.

"To go where no man has gone before" did not entail malicious electronegative plasma based storm clouds with questionable altering properties.

"Sulu, Chekov, reset our course navigations to the nearest Federation planet in a roundabout route to avoid the anomaly. Initiate warp speed." Jim ordered.

"Yes, sir," both Sulu and Chekov responded.

Within seconds Sulu announced, "Course redirect implemented. Ready for warp, Captain."

Mere moments later, as Sulu had begun to push the silver warp lever, the ship's scanners began to go haywire as a formidable force shook the entire ship. Through the ship's window the entire crew watched the anomaly suddenly pulse towards them.

"Now, Sulu!" Jim ordered with a slight frenzy in his tone.

"We are in full warp, Captain," Sulu said with trepidation in his voice, "but it appears that the anomaly is as well."

A full three seconds of silence ensued before the anomaly pulsed again, and with a bright blinding light shot electric bolts that penetrated the ships walls, striking various machines, light fixtures, and most unfortunately, the captain.

Jim felt no pain, only light.

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Tingling, his body was tingling, and there were sounds. Voices? The muffled voices sounded worried and he wanted to know why but he couldn't focus on a single one to make out any sense. He was beginning to get frightened because he didn't know what was going on.

He tried to open his eyes.

Fuzzy images of tall blobs contrasted against a lighter background. This only added to the fear that was quickly rising up inside of him. He opened his mouth, and all he could do was cry his distress.

The entire crew looked upon the crying infant that was Captain James T. Kirk, all speechless.

Uhura began to approach the distressed baby, wrapping him in the shirt he had been wearing moments ago, but as soon as she picked him up he began to scream louder. Frightened, she held the shrieking infant an arms length away from her body. "Does anyone else want to try?" she asked in exasperation as Baby Jim began to add violent thrashing to his screams.

Uhura hastily handed him over to Chekov. "He's always been fond of you. Maybe he'll take to you better," she reasoned.

Baby Jim stopped his wailing at the switch of hands…

For a moment or two…

He began crying again, momentum building with each passing second. Chekov looked even more out of place with the wailing baby than Uhura had. "Keptin, it is okay. Ples stop crying," he said to the child. Chekov tried to pass Baby Jim on to Sulu but the man backed away shaking his head. Chekov redirected his advances toward Spock, who also was staring at the infant captain with shock and dare one say fright?

Spock wasn't given much choice than to take the screaming captain into his arms, lest he be dropped by the lack of Chekov's.

Baby Jim stopped crying again at the switch of the person holding him. He raised his tiny red fists and squinted his eyes at first to look at Spock, deciding to then open them exposing the familiar shocking blue. Baby Jim then grasped the front of Spock's uniform snuggling into his body. From the physical contact and his touch telepath nature, Spock could slightly get the meaning of "warm" across from the connection from Jim, as the infant began to drift asleep.

Spock looked up from the baby to the shocked faces of his fellow crew.

"I'm taking the captain to sickbay. Lieutenant Uhura, contact Scotty to inform him that he is temporarily in charge," he ordered, and briskly walked out of the bridge with Baby Jim.

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To say that Bones was genuinely disturbed was an understatement. Not only would the situation of his best friend and Captain being carried into sickbay in the arms of the irritatingly logical hobgoblin be enough to cause this dismay, but the fact that his best friend and Captain was inexplicably an _infant_ threw him over the edge.

"What have you done to him?!" Bones accused.

Spock but merely lifted a steep eyebrow, "You are to imply that I not only have the capability but also the desire to harm the captain in this way? Were you not aware of the powerful electrical anomaly that penetrated our defenses at warp speed, _Doctor_?" There was a distinct level of acidity in Spock's voice that was enough to make Bones feel sheepish for his uncalled for outburst.

Not that he would ever admit that to the Vulcan.

Bones made no reply as he went to retrieve Jim from Spock's arms, but Jim was having none of that. He had awoken from the argument and currently had a death grip on Spock's shirt. He began to cry again once Bones attempted to pry him off.

"What's wrong with him? Why won't he let go of you?" Bones wondered out loud.

"That is precisely why I am here. It is imperative that you find out how to change the Captain back to his rightful age in a timely fashion. The Enterprise needs its Captain, and I cannot hold him until he naturally ages." Spock answered, worry lacing his voice now.

Bones began to scan Baby Jim with the tricorder, checking the baby's vitals, and everything else he could possibly do with him attached to the Vulcan. "He seems to be functioning normally, but there is something interesting in the scan readings…" Bones murmured as he intently looked through the results.

Spock waited patiently, shifting Baby Jim into a tighter embrace as the baby began to slip. Bright blue eyes stared up at him, and a hiccup that resembled a laugh came from the baby's lips as he got comfortable in the adjusted position. Spock began to feel shrouds of other emotions coming through his touch telepath connection with Jim.

Feelings like trust…

Affection…

Spock ignored the feelings that were not his own coming through the connection as he inquired Bones, " What about the scans?"

After another irritatingly silent few minutes, Bones finally answered. "It seems as though Jim has been reverted back to his infant form by the anomaly, that his DNA is rapidly replicating. It's almost as if he's aging before our eyes."

Bones and Spock both looked down at Baby Jim. He did not appear to be the newborn that had been wailing on the bridge. He looked to be several months old, as he was successfully supporting his head that now seemed to have a light dusting of blonde hair. It also explained the uncharacteristically strong grip on Spock.

"So, the captain will quickly grow to be his normal age naturally?" Spock inquired the doctor.

"At this rate, it appears that Jim will be able to regain about four years back within a 24 hour period." Bones whispered in amazement as he looked back down to the results.

"You claim that the captain will be back to normal in less than a week then," Spock concluded.

"Ideally," Bones replied with hesitation, "but the question is…will his rapid aging cease at his normal 25 years of age…or will it continue to progress?"

A thick silence ensued, to be broken by Spock as he peered down at the little captain within his arms that had taken to sleeping once more. "If it does progress in such a manner, Jim will be dead in less than a month," he practically whispered.

Spock's buried emotions were steadily creeping to the surface, and all he could feel was fear for his captain…for his friend. With the slightest brush through Baby Jim's downy blonde hair, it greatly disturbed the Vulcan that the soft curls in his hand had not been there moments ago.

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**Reviews are lovely! Tell me what you think. Chapter 2 is on its way. **

**Much love, M.R.**


	2. To The Moon

_Day 1: Captain Kirk: age progression estimated 0-4 years of age. –Captain Log Supplement._

Dr. McCoy tried to take hold of the slumbering baby from my arms in an attempt to deliver him into the care of the nursing staff. He succeeded in his attempt, at least until the motion awakened the Captain once more. Nurse Chapel had time to clothe the Captain within a makeshift cloth diaper. It goes unsaid that the starship was not equipped with more advanced absorbent material in preparation for an infant's bodily waste.

His eyes flew open, and fear enveloped his miniature features, his tiny arms outstretched in my direction. The confusion and fright resulting in the Captain was understandable given the situation, but his panic at separation from my person was incomprehensible to any logical conclusion I could come up with.

When the Captain's bottom lip began to tremble and his small nose began to turn red, the probability of another screaming tantrum was at a 98.7% mental estimation. I took the bristled infant back into my grasp before the chance of such an inevitable outburst could occur that would initiate this action anyway.

It had nothing to do with the sudden emptiness from the broken connection, nor did it stem from any urges to personally protect Jim. I was rather optimizing the efficiency of the present situation…

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"It has come to my attention, Doctor McCoy, that the Captain will refuse to be in the care of any person other than myself while he is in his current condition." Spock explained, indicating the immediate serenity returning to Baby Jim's features.

The ruddy look of human irritation just as rapidly appearing on the Doctor's face as the appearance of calm on the Captain's made him illogically amused somewhere deep in his allowance for emotional acknowledgment.

"So it appears," Bones said through clenched teeth, "God damnit, Jim, you're trying to test my patience even as an infant."

Baby Jim merely stared at the strange man pointing at him as another small hiccup escaped him.

"As much as this conversation is stimulating, Doctor, is there anything else medically that can be done or can we, as you would say 'call it a day' before you upset the child any further?" Spock inquired.

"You really are a…" Bones started.

"Green-blooded, pointy-eared, hobgoblin bastard. I'm aware of the limited and mostly superficial vocabulary pool you have reserved for me. This isn't about our mild incompatibility, this is about the Captain and this ship." Spock retorted, raising Baby Jim for emphasis.

With a loud sigh, Bones rubbed his temples for a moment and then returned his gaze to the wrong-in-so-many-ways situation in front of him. "I know, Spock. I'm just worried. To answer your question, there is nothing further I can do for Jim right now except begin running tests on his mutated DNA and see if it is possible to block, or more preferably, slow its progression." Bones hesitated, taking to rubbing his temples once more, "So for now, I guess you're assigned mother hen duty."

"Dr. McCoy you realize that I am neither a female nor an Earth bird. Your description escapes me. "

Bones let out a chuckle, walking over to the puzzled Vulcan to clap him on the back, "Don't take things so literally, Spock, the unnecessary stress will shorten the longevity of even _your _lifespan. You're in charge of Jim, needless to say, so give him what a human child needs to grow. If you'll excuse me, I'll be heading to the lab to start this needle in a haystack research."

"Doctor, you also realize that there are neither needles nor—"

"Expressions, Spock. Expressions!" Bones waved in exasperation as he took leave of the sickbay leaving Jim and Spock to their own devices.

Well, Baby Jim seemed to be comfortable with such devices, but Spock looked rather out of place. He stared at this little human that he had not so long ago called Captain. For the time being, it was illogical to mentally or linguistically refer to him as Captain, for a child was incapable of such intergalactic decision-making.

"Jim…" Spock whispered, instinctively rocking the child, and was gratified with a content smile.

His inner temperature increased in correlation with several shreds of emotion. He could blame it on his telepathic connection, but Vulcans—even half Vulcans—do not lie, even to themselves. He was intrigued as to how he was able to make this child happy with his smallest attentions.

Making his Captain, no—Jim, happy felt rather…nice.

For all that Spock resembled a brand new parent scared out of his wits, he felt reassured from Jim's apparent happiness. Just like in any previous mission, Jim had always been by Spock's side as his comrade and even recently as his friend. This time it was no different, and so the least Spock could do was to take care of him.

Even if this turned out to be harder than Spock anticipated, the responsibility would only last for a few days.

Spock didn't bother returning to the bridge. Jim was obviously in need of rest, and his shift would be over in an hour or so as it was. After the anomaly had penetrated the ship, it had recoiled back into itself leaving no residual evidence that it ever existed.

Only in space.

Scotty could handle the ship for an hour.

Spock ignored the sidelong looks from various crew and yeomen as he carried Baby Jim to his quarters. Typing in his access code with a baby in one hand proved challenging, and the child's squirming made it difficult to keep a firm grip. With a swish of the doors, Spock was back in his quarters at long last after an equally long day. This was the one place where he could truly accept both his human and Vulcan lineage— within the room's privacy. He was not alone now, though, so he kept any human tendencies buried still. Even though he was a mere baby, his guest was still Jim Kirk, and Spock tried to be especially Vulcan around this human.

Such reasons for previous efforts in which Spock preferred not to dwell on, thankfully, were not applicable with Jim's current predicament.

Scanning his room for an efficient place to put Baby Jim to sleep, Spock found himself at a loss. The only cushioned furniture in the room was the bed, and two padded chairs where he and Uhura used to play chess.

He could not let the infant sleep on a chair for the possibility of Jim falling off in the middle of the night, and he could not let him sleep in his bed with himself for fear of accidentally crushing him.

After several more moments, Baby James T. Kirk was sound asleep atop Spock's bed, swaddled in one of Spock's warmer shirts.

Spock slept in the chair.

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_Spock tried to squelch his impatience and worry. She always came to his room at the same time every night to tell him a bedtime story before he went to sleep. He assured her on a nightly basis that he was no longer a child and that her efforts were not necessary any longer. He was five years old, his logic could not see a purpose in continuing such an unnecessary activity. _

_Had mother accepted his words? Somehow he never expected her to, which is why he continued to tell her so. She was exactly 17.4 minutes late, and it appeared as if Spock was going to tuck himself in for the first time._

_Drawing the blankets back, he slid underneath, turning his back to the door. _

"_Spock, darling, I'm sorry I kept you waiting," he heard his mother say from afar. "I had something to discuss with your father. You aren't already asleep, are you?" Her voice was closer now and he felt her soft hand stroke his hair. _

_He'd pretend to be asleep. She had made him think she wasn't coming, that she no longer cared. As his Vulcan ears heard soft foot falls retreating from his bed, he turned over and said, "I thought you weren't coming."_

_The sound of his voice made her, too, turn around. A curious expression befell her face as she returned to sit on the edge of the bed. She placed a human kiss on my forehead as she whispered, "I'll always be here, Spock, until the day you really mean that you don't need me. When that day comes, it will be up to you to be there for me, because I will always need you."_

_Mother…_

_After a moment, she sighed, "What story would you like to hear tonight, my dear?"_

"_Perhaps a new one?" Spock asked as earnest as possible for a Vulcan. It was his attempt to assuage the glassy look in his mother's eyes._

_She smiled. "Very well. A long, long time ago there was a young Vulcan that dreamed of traveling to the moon…"_

"_But mother," Spock interrupted, "Vulcan has no moon."_

"_Ah, but many planets do, son. There is an infinite universe out there, Spock. On my planet there is a moon." she laughed._

"_Earth…what is it like there?" Spock asked in a soft voice._

"_Well, it is greener, more colorful than Vulcan. There are vast saltwater oceans, high snow capped mountain ranges, lush forests, hot deserts—you name it. And yet it is dotted with many grand cities full of light and innovation." She said with a fondness as she stared off to the side, appearing to see her words come to life before her eyes. _

"_You seem affectionate towards this planet. Why did you leave it?" Spock asked._

"_For love. I was once a young Human that dreamed of traveling to the moon, and I ended up seeing many different ones. My journey led me to your father, and as a result you. I couldn't be happier. Sure, Earth is my home, but so is Vulcan. They are both breath-taking in their own way, Spock." She smiled once more._

_Spock allowed the corner of his mouth to turn up. "So this young Vulcan…did he ever get to see the moon?"_

_Spock didn't get an answer because something was pulling on his sleep pants. His mother seemed unaware as her lips moved, telling him the answer, but he could not hear her any longer._

"_Spuh," his mother whined, now tugging on his pant leg. _

"Spuh!"

Spock was startled awake. He was not on Vulcan, he was sitting in his quarters on the U.S.S. Enterprise. His pant leg was being pulled, and he looked down to see a small cherubic face with round ice blue eyes peering out of a golden mop of hair staring up at him expectantly.

"Spuh! Spuh!" the toddler insisted, his voice growing louder, as his eyebrows knit together in frustration.

_Jim…_

"I see that you've awakened, Jim," he said as his eyes focused and left the shroud of dreaming behind, "what can I do for you?"

"'m hun…hungry, Spuh," Jim said in a shy voice, a complete shift from his previous demanding tone.

Spock raised an eyebrow. "What are you hungry for?"

Jim looked down at his toes, shifting them around a little bit before he answered, "Don' know."

This timid side of Jim Kirk was most unexpected. The child's indecision concerning the food that he wanted to ingest made him hesitate. Was Spock expected to know what he wanted to eat?

Spock was about to suggest milk, or scrambled eggs to the toddler—that seemed harmless enough for his current age—which he wasn't exactly sure of what said age was. Maybe two? His suggestion was cut off by Jim.

"Wha're you gon' eat, Spuh?" Jim asked instead.

"Well," Spock said slowly, "I'm not really hungry at this point in time, Jim."

The boy's lip started to tremble like it had done in sickbay. It was logic that spurred Spock to pick the toddler up, avoiding another inevitable emotional outburst from the child. "But I suppose I have room for a snack. We'll go get something from the replicator, alright?"

Jim's face lit up like ten million suns as he smiled and wrapped his little arms around Spock's midsection as far as he could. The unexpected gesture knocked the breath out of the Vulcan. He found himself hesitantly embracing the child in return.

Humans really were instinctively emotional creatures.

Jim looked up at Spock's apprehensive expression. "Wha's a rep…a repimayer?" he asked, confusion now taking precedence on his little face.

"A _replicator_, Jim." Spock corrected.

"Repimayer. Tha's wha I said."

Spock closed his eyes and exhaled, secretly smiling on the inside. Humans were going to be the death of him. Upon opening his eyes, the boy was still eagerly awaiting an explanation. "Let's go see, shall we?"

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Jim stared at his plate. It was a miniature version of Spock's, containing some type of purple mush. It was weird.

"Aren't you hungry anymore?" Spock asked the toddler sitting on his lap.

Jim stared at the plate a bit longer, and then decidedly shook his head no.

"You were so insistent on your hunger before. Why won't you eat?"

"'s puh-ple…" Jim explained.

"You said you wanted to eat what I was eating," Spock said in mild exasperation.

"You eat weird stuff." Jim explained to the best of his ability.

Spock picked up his spoon, dipping it into the Vulcan berry oat mush, and brought it up to his mouth demonstrating that the food was perfectly edible. "You have to try it now, Jim, you wanted it. You're brave, are you not?" Spock tried. If there was any semblance of the Jim Kirk he knew sprouting in this little body, then his tactic should be rather effective.

Jim seemed to be more apt to the idea after watching Spock eat the purple mush. "'m brave. Gimme," he said with knitted brows as he determinedly reached for the spoon that now had fresh purple mush awaiting him. Spock assisted the child with the spoon, and waited for a reaction.

Jim swallowed it all…and then…his face scrunched up in disgust. "Yuck!"

James T. Kirk at your service.

Spock's eyes sparkled with amusement as he went to throw Jim's purple mush away, returning with a fresh scrambled egg and a glass of milk from the replicator. Jim happily ate his food.

By the time they were finished, it must have been reaching a decent hour of wake, because a few sleepy eyed crew members began to come into the rec room for their breakfast. Looking down at Jim, Spock saw that there was milk all over his face. He grabbed a napkin and wiped it off for him.

Hoisting the toddler in one arm, Spock disposed of their garbage with the other, nodding at the fellow crew members. He was on duty this morning—as the temporary Captain, he just realized. Jim was only clothed in his makeshift diaper and the extremely large shirt of Spock's. Upon arriving back at his quarters, there was a stack of tiny toddler clothes neatly folded outside of the door.

Spock was mildly surprised as he bent down to pick them up. There was a note from Nurse Chapel. She had made the clothes overnight. There were also a few larger cloth diapers. He really needed to thank the woman when he saw her next.

After the difficult situation of trying to bathe the toddler and change his diaper, Jim was finally clothed in a baggy child's size star fleet uniform made of a rather soft material—emblem and all. It would have been endearing if Spock were capable of thinking such a thing.

Once Spock was satisfied with Jim's hygiene, he went to take care of his own. The only problem was that Jim still had illogical separation issues when it came to him. After much reasoning, Spock made a compromise that he would leave the bathroom door open, but that Jim had to remain in the bedroom. He would only be a few minutes, he reassured the child.

After about 2.5 minutes into his shower, he heard a very distressed voice call out, "Spuh! _Spuh!!!_" Spock's heartbeat oddly quickened as he immediately shut the shower tap off and wrapped himself in a Starfleet issued robe, rushing to the bedroom to see what was wrong.

"What happened, Jim?" Spock asked slightly breathless.

Jim ran over to the Vulcan and embraced his leg. "Don' leave, Spuh," Jim said in a tiny voice. A bemused couple of seconds passed before Spock crouched down to Jim's level and looked him straight in they eye. "I'm not going anywhere." Jim's face was wet, and so Spock wiped away the lacrimal fluid caused by the child's distress. "Not without you," he continued in a softer voice, "we have to go to the bridge, though."

"Brid?" Jim asked him with those wide blue eyes.

"Yes, the bridge. I'm the captain right now and I have to report yesterday's incidents to Starfleet." Jim appeared to be even more confused at the particular explanation. Spock tried again, "We're going to go play a game," he started.

"A game?" Jim smiled brightly.

"Yes, you and I are going to pretend to be the captain of a ship. Does that sound fun?"

"Yea!!!" Jim jumped up and down, almost falling over. Spock steadied him.

"Good. Let me get dressed and then we'll both go the bridge to play captain. I will be right in the bathroom, I'm not going anywhere," Spock assured him once more.

"'Kay!"

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If anyone found it strange that Spock was sitting in the Captain's chair with an almost three year old Jim Kirk sitting on his leg in a miniature Starfleet uniform, no one made any move to highlight the abnormality of the situation. Jim was acting uncharacteristically quiet again, and that seemed to be surprising the crew the most.

"Lieutenant Uhura, contact Starfleet. I must inform them of the current situation." Spock said with formality dripping from his clipped voice.

Spock was very aware of the blue eyes watching his every move.

"Right away…Captain," Uhura said glancing from Spock to Jim.

"Admiral Pike, here. What seems to be the problem, Captain K—Spock?" Pike finished when he saw the Vulcan sitting in the captain's chair. "Where is Captain Kirk?" he frowned.

Spock lifted Jim up into the range of view. "This is Captain Kirk. After an unfortunate collision with an unidentified space anomaly, the Captain among other inanimate machines were struck by a plasma-based electronegative charge. The machines are being repaired as we speak, but as you see before your eyes, Captain Kirk is another story."

"I see…" Admiral Pike said with a deepening expression of worry laced professionalism. "Is the condition reversible?"

"As we speak it is reversing itself, and the entire medical and science crew are working on precautionary measures." Spock replied.

He didn't want Jim to understand what he was talking about, or to unnecessarily worry the crew or the admiral, so he left the part about the out-of-control DNA replication out of the story. After all, everything was still speculation. A panicked crew would not be efficient.

"Very well. In the mean time, I trust the Enterprise will be able to handle the cargo transference to the newfound colony on Astral V as scheduled?" Admiral Pike asked.

"Of course, sir."

"I do not foresee any danger to develop during this mission. I trust you will ensure the crew's safety at any rate, Captain Spock."

"Of course, sir." Spock repeated.

"Good luck and give Jim my regards. Pike out." With that, the video stream went blank.

"Spock to engineering, how much engine power is the ship able to provide under the circumstances?" Spock asked.

"I can only give ya Warp 1, Mr.—sorry, Captain Spock," Scotty replied through the intercom, "Tha ship sustained measurable damage from tha anomaly, sir. It won't be running normally for abou' a week."

"Thank you, Mr. Scott. Spock out." Spock glanced down at Jim; he was absolutely fascinated by everything that was occurring. There was no doubt in Spock's mind that he was destined for the Enterprise.

"Chekov, set appropriate navigations for Astral V. Mr. Sulu, gently initiate Warp 1."

"Destination set, Keptin." Chekov replied.

"Warp 1 ready, sir." Sulu responded.

Spock felt a tug on the sleeve of his uniform. He bent down to Jim's level to see what he wanted. "Wha's war..warpah?" Jim whispered in a particularly serious tone for a toddler.

Spock pointed to the window in which the universe was laid out for them to see. "Look for yourself, Jim."

Jim arched his neck to witness the seemingly stagnant stars instantly zoom past them and grabbed onto Spock when the ship made a slight jerk at the initial shift into warp gear. Once the motion stopped, Jim peered at the stars and planets whirring by them with pure awe. Unbeknownst to the little captain, the entire crew had taken to observing his reaction.

Something inside of James T. Kirk was ignited. "I like dis game, Spuh!" he beamed. Any shred of bashfulness melted off of his personality within seconds. He was in Captain mode. Climbing onto the arm of the Captain's chair, with Spock tensely steadying him, Jim stood straight and tall. "Soohoo! More Warpah, now!" he ordered.

Sulu was surprised by the outburst, and when he met Spock's eyes he decided to play along with a small smile. "Of course, Captain. How much faster?" At this, Jim faltered, leaning in to whisper in Spock's ear, "How fast?"

Spock reciprocated by leaning in to whisper into Jim's ear, "I think the ship can handle Warp 1.1."

Jim nodded and returned to his Captain stance. "Warpah un poin' un, Soohoo!" Jim said proudly, puffing out his tiny Starfleet emblem clad chest.

Spock conceded that this situation would be very endearing, again, if he were capable of personally thinking such a thing. The thought process was initiated by an 'aww' sound coming from Lt. Uhura and Ensign Chekov's direction.

"Initiate Warp 1.1, Mr. Sulu." Spock confirmed.

Sulu hesitated, having witnessed the conversation between Spock and Scotty. Even so, it was an order. With a shrug he said, "Warp 1.1 ready, Captains."

The expression of pure happiness that was put upon Jim's face instigated a feeling that was…nice, once more within Spock. He knew pushing the engine's limits—even minimally—was something only the irrational Captain Kirk would try. The young Captain was undoubtedly clouding his more clear-cut logic today.

Spock immediately decided not to dwell on that fact, adding it to his ever-increasing list of such things.

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It had been a long day. Catering to a three year old was something Spock was rapidly learning to be energy draining. Upon request, a cot had been brought back to Spock's quarters for Jim to sleep in. When the two returned to the room, there was another pile of neatly folded Starfleet clothes along with a set of pajamas waiting for Jim—all in a larger size.

He would thank Nurse Chapel when he took Jim to sickbay in the morning to have an examination by Dr. McCoy.

As he had become so accustomed to doing, Spock carried the exhausted child into the room and sat him onto his cot. Jim almost literally fell sideways when he was seated; his eyes drooping dangerously. Spock pulled his shoes off and hastily clothed him in the new red pajamas that were, again, too large for the boy.

They would probably fit in the morning.

Jim was practically asleep when Spock placed him under the covers. He went to his bathroom to get ready to go to sleep himself, when he heard a knock on his door. So as to not wake Jim, Spock made an effort to be extremely quiet as he went to see who it was.

It was Nyota.

"Good evening, Spock," she smiled sheepishly, " I wanted to see if everything was running smoothly with your current predicament."

"I am handling the situation," Spock replied in the same clipped tone he had addressed her with earlier on the bridge.

As she took a step towards him, he took a step backwards. "I appreciate your concern, Uhura. But I do not see how this involves you. We agreed to only speak in a professional setting." He reminded her.

She looked down and then back into his eyes and outstretched her hand, "The way you are taking care of him, it's…sweet, Spock." She left words unsaid hanging in the growing distance between them.

"I appreciate your interest in the matter, but I must get back to Jim. Goodnight, Lieutenant." Spock said, officially ending the conversation.

She let her arm drop and gave him a bittersweet smile. "I know this is my doing, and for that I will respect your decision as to whatever part of your life you are willing to include me in."

"A future friendship might be possible, but for the time being, like I stated earlier—I must get back to Jim." Spock said in a warmer tone.

With a nod she left.

Spock softly closed the door and walked over to his bed. As he made himself comfortable, he began to go over the events of the past day within his thoughts. This was most definitely going to be considered one of his more laborious days as of late. He began to feel sleep grip the edges of his consciousness, when he felt a small body climb under the covers next to him.

He should send Jim back to his own cot, especially since the crew had taken the time to retrieve it for them, but the trials of the day erased any protest or logical reasoning that might have formed on his lips. After a few minutes, Jim must have realized that he was not going to be sent back to his own bed, and his body relaxed into Spock's as he laid his head onto Spock's chest.

It was almost inaudible, because the child mumbled it into his chest, "Love you, Spock."

…It appeared that Jim had successfully learned how to pronounce his name.

As for the other part, well, that was going on Spock's Do Not Dwell Upon list for the time being.

"Sleep well, Jim," Spock said with a strange warmth, "Dream of the moon."

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**There you have it! Thank you to all of the lovely readers that took the time to review. You speeded up the completion of this chapter :) Keep it up, everyone, it's a proven fact that I update faster with lots of review love!**

**-M.R.**


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